Eutelsat 4A

Eutelsat 4A, previously Eurobird 4A and Eutelsat W1 ^[1] is a French communications satellite which is operated by Eutelsat. It was constructed by Astrium is based on the Eurostar-2000+ satellite bus. Its launch was contracted by Arianespace, using an Ariane 4 44P-3 carrier rocket. The launch occurred on 6 September 2000, at 22:33 UTC from ELA-2 at the Guiana Space Centre.

It was originally built as Orion 2 for . This was later cancelled when Orion merged with Loral Skynet, who opted to procure satellites from their sister company, Space Systems Loral. It was subsequently sold to Eutelsat as a backup satellite and designated RESSAT. It was subsequently launched in place of the original Eutelsat W1, which was damaged whilst under construction and eventually launched as Eutelsat W5.^[1]

Following its launch and on-orbit testing, it was placed in geostationary orbit at 10° East, from where it provided broadcast and communications services to Europe using wide-band feeds. In June 2009, it was moved to 4° East,^[2] and redesignated Eurobird 4A. It carries twenty eight transponders, and has an expected on-orbit lifespan of 12 years.

In 2012 it was renamed Eutelsat 4A.^[2]

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